I've Got You Under My Skin
by kellylover
Summary: "Max was always grateful to have 99 as a partner, but never had he been so grateful as he was in that moment. 99 had risked life and limb and livelihood all to help him prove himself." This story takes place during "Shipment to Beirut" and reviews Max's attitude toward 99 throughout the second half of the first season. Oneshot.


**I've Got You Under My Skin**

**kellylover**

Maxwell Smart was nervous.

This wasn't terribly unusual. As a spy, Max was often put in situations that made him nervous or uncomfortable. And he had been trained to deal with the anxiety of his missions, but this was different than a mission. This was 99.

She was walking beside him in silence down the hallways of CONTROL. Together they strode toward the chief's office, knowing that disciplinary action was at the end of their journey.

Max was always grateful to have 99 as a partner, but never had he been so grateful as he was in that moment. 99 had risked life and limb and livelihood all to help him prove himself.

Not that 99 had never disobeyed the chief's orders before. She had taken a large part in the rescue of Fang despite the chief's strict instructions to the contrary. But 99 had a special place in her heart for Fang just as much as Max had. So though he was touched by her offer to help go in after Fang with him, Max convinced himself that 99 was helping for Fang's sake just as much as his.

This time, however, 99 had put her life and her job on the line for Max alone.

This knowledge scared Max even more than the looming lecture that waited at the end of the hall.

Max knew his own heart was beyond saving, but he had tried his very hardest to save 99's. That was why her willingness to risk everything worried him so much.

Max had learned that he was irreversibly in love with 99 in the moment he least expected it. He had ignored his feelings as much as he possibly could and had kept 99 at arms' length at all times, but still somehow, it had snuck up on him. And it wasn't until he was captured and a beautiful woman of KAOS tried to seduce him that he realized he couldn't ignore it anymore.

When that woman had kissed Max, he responded, playing the role of irresistible spy. As soon as she was gone, though Max was pleased with his performance, he realized that he had felt almost nothing from their encounter. All he could think about was how sour her kiss had been compared to 99's sweet, plump lips. And somehow he knew that despite all of his efforts to the contrary, he was hopelessly, irrevocably in love with 99.

So when there came a time that Max was likely to be killed in the line of duty, he felt compelled to tell her how much she had come to mean to him.

They had been at Blue Mist Mountain, staking out a cabin in the area where KAOS agents were suspected of gathering. After a brief observational period, it was Max's job to infiltrate the cabin. It was going to be dangerous. He would have to fake his way through the whole exchange. So it wasn't surprising when it made him pause at the door. Max frowned for a second and then called to 99.

He asked her to look after the chief. And while that had been important, it hadn't been what he really wanted to say. So he came back again, but this time the reminder was to take care of Fang. Max frowned at himself, unable to speak the words he most wanted to say, and turned to leave. He was able to close the door that time before he forced himself back into the cabin. But the second the door swung open, he had once again lost his nerve. Instead, he muttered something about watering the plants in his apartment, got a short, "Max!" from the chief, and then finally left.

But in the end, Max had been worried for nothing. He came back alive (thankfully, he had decided against wearing his bow tie that day) and any confessions of love he might have uttered would have only complicated the matter. So instead, Max admired 99 from a safe distance, from behind a carefully constructed wall of indifference designed to keep 99's heart safe.

He first suspected that he meant more to her than he was willing to accept when she took her vacation time to help him on a dangerous mission. When he was sent onboard the Ship of Spies to recover the plans for the nuclear amphibian battle ship, he had been surprised to find that 99 had decided to come along. It had worried him, and perhaps it had been wishful thinking, but he had written it off as general concern for her partner.

This, however, this didn't seem as though it could be explained away as anything other than blind faith in and unwavering regard for him. And though he secretly loved that conclusion, he knew that nothing could ever come of it, so he would have to be more careful in the future.

"Wait a minute, 99," Max said, reaching for her arm. They stopped walking and she turned to look at him.

"Yes, Max?"

"Before we went in there, I wanted to say thank you. You didn't have to help me out with this assignment, but you did, and you were almost killed for it. So thank you, 99."

99 blushed a bit and responded, "You're my partner, Max. It's my job to help you, to believe in you. And I would have been killed if it weren't for you. So thank you."

"You're my partner, 99," he repeated. "I'll always look out for you."

99 smiled at him and reached out to grab his arm. "Come on, Max. Let's go hear what the chief has to say."

So Max turned and walked with 99 attached to his arm. And together, they went to face the troubles ahead.

**A/N: I'm secretly afraid this author's note will turn out to be longer than the story itself.**

**First of all, I'd like to give a shout-out to the Guest reviewer who is only 15. You are a fangirl after my own heart. Ship them, fangirl, ship them hard, and keep the Get Smart faith.**

**Secondly, I'd like to shout-out to ChrisR. You have written some of my favorite Get Smart stories, and you'll always be one of my Get Smart fanfiction heros. If I may, I'd like to submit the following for your consideration.**

**I should have explained it better, no doubt, but the only way I can personally justify Max's comment, "Why, you're a girl!" in the pilot is to assume it was said, at least somewhat, facetiously. If you accept my proposal, there is nothing that says Max was unaware of who 99 was, only that he had never met her personally. This is the only way I can justify what I did in my previous story, and the only way I can justify to myself who Max as a character is.**

**Perhaps I haven't persuaded anyone, and that's okay. It's just my interpretation. It's what I'm most comfortable believing if I want Max to be a cohesive character in any sense of the word.**

**Lastly, I'd like to shout-out to everyone else who reviewed "I've Got A Crush On You." You have made it my most reviewed story, and for that I am forever grateful. Any of you who were concerned, don't worry, I intend to keep writing more stories. I will let you know when I take a break, but until then, I will keep turning them out. I apologize for the delay in posting this one. I know it's rather short, but I've already begun work on the next. So please stay tuned.**

**And, as always, reviews are more than welcome. Encouraged, even. Thank you again for reading!**

**Viva Smart!**


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